Monday, August 15, 2011

Woodstock Anniversary

Pop culture historians and rock historians have long celebrated the 3 day festival known as Woodstock from August of 1969. There are many things about the festival that could be said but since I wasn't around for it. I will only share my thoughts on the presence of one musician who is considered by many to be one of the greatest guitar heroes of all time, Jimi Hendrix. Hendrix electrified the crowd with his set, most notably his version of the The Star-Spangled Banner that will forever immortalize him in Rock 'N' Roll history.

One of the questions that Woodstock raises for me is the impact on culture and the response or perhaps lack of response by the church in America to engage the people that Woodstock appealed to. How does the Church address issues and concerns on a social level even if the actions and behavior of those concerned is not in keeping with the norms for the Church? Do we quarantine ourselves from the potential for pollution and not engage culture or do we jump into the muck and mire of people's lives and boldly proclaim the Gospel, so that we can make sense of all of the muck and mire surrounding our lives just as the mud surrounded the festival goers 42 years ago.

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